Fortress Antwerp-Fort Breendonk

Construction of Fort Breendonk began in 1906, intended to secure the region's defense as part of the Fortress of Antwerp. At the outbreak of World War I, the fort was not yet fully completed, and its original armament included seven armored domes with cannons and howitzers, as well as fourteen rapid-fire cannons for close-range defense. In May 1940, during the Western Campaign, the fortress was captured by the Wehrmacht. Shortly thereafter, in September 1940, the German Secret State Police (Gestapo) established the Breendonk detention camp here. Until its liberation in the autumn of 1944, it served as the center of Gestapo activities in Belgium and Northern France. At least 3,532 people were imprisoned here, of whom only 458 survived the cruel tortures.